Budget will 'make or break' our election campaign, says Darling

The Chancellor said the package on March 24 would instead focus on measures to encourage economic growth.

He also delivered a bullish assessment of the prospects for UK plc, suggesting lower-than expected unemployment could give him more room for manoeuvre.

The comments will fuel criticism that the Government is trying to dodge setting out exactly how they plan to halve the country’s record 178bn deficit over the next four years.

Interviewed on Sky News’ Sunday Live programme, Mr Darling admitted that the Budget would be critical in deciding the result of the general election.

“Of course it is important because the economy and the decisions we take that will affect the next five, 10, 20 years are pretty critical to the big decision, the big choice the country will make whenever the election is called.”

Mr Darling refused to give a guarantee that there would be no tax rises beyond the previously-announced increases in national insurance and for top earners.

Shadow Business Secretary Ken Clarke said significant reductions in expenditure may need to be combined with tax rises to stabilise the public finances. “Everybody knows that a Conservative government would try to avoid tax increases,” he said. “The problem has been excessive spending. There is some very wasteful public spending that has got into the system.”

Speaking on BBC1’s Politics Show, Gordon Brown said: “When people see the Budget, they will see the plan for the future which includes the halving of the deficit.

“We’ve got that under control, we’ve taken action to deal with the debt that comes as a result of the recession but at the same time we’re not going to cut frontline services for health and education and policing.”